Risks Of Playing For "Shady" People?

With new years coming up, my band has been approached by a shady fellow, who dabbles in illegal trading, if you will. Now, as our band is just starting out, we are generally happy to get any chance to play out, but this has me very, very worried.

I guess a more specific questions would be 1) What sort of legal risks are there in playing at a private party where drinking is going on? (We're [the band] under age, but our corwd would be adults).

1. It's a private party, I'm assuming on private property - this leaves the host liable for just about everything.
2. If you underagers don't drink it's a non-issue anyway.

I wouldn't be *too* concerned with the shady character... this industry is rather full of them. In my experience with these 'illegal traders', expect things to be less organized than you'd want but don't worry too much about not being paid.

Note: if your drummer is the large, strong, dumb kind of drummer (there's more than just this kind of drummer!?) you can bypass contracts altogether.

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The drummer in my band is actually is actually pretty small (and studies law) but he sure beats crap out of his drums. lol (when i think about it everyone in my band except me is small i'm the only one over 5'10")

ever hear of the fable with the scorpion and the frog? Don't make good deals with bad people.

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It's definitely worth being cautious. For example, there are probably going to be all sorts of temptations at the party - if you're invited to down a few drinks, are you sure that you and all the band will say no?

Also, if the host is known by you to be a bit "shady", it's likely that a lot of his associates will also fall into the same category and that, in turn, makes it more likely that it's the kind of party the police might keep a close eye on and want to bust even if they catch sight of anything dodgy.

Finally, just think about how many movies start with someone at a party seeing something they shouldn't and ending up spending the rest of the movie being chased by gangsters! Of course, films are only made about the ones who get away, not the ones who end up swimming with the fishes....

Just be very clear UP FRONT with the "Mr. Shady" and your band what is going to happen.

Make sure you get a commitement from "Mr. Shady" BEFORE THE GIG to pay you for your services. And do what you're supposed to do: Competently perform songs thru-out the night, say; "Happy New Year!" at the appropriate time. And designate a time that the band is done. Pack up and go home.

Make sure you have a designated driver, or commit to not indulging in adult beverages and be as professional as you can.